A lack of certainty from Washington D.C., on health care, taxes and government regulation is keeping U.S. small-business owners from investing in their companies and hiring more workers, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry said Wednesday.

The York County Republican made his remarks following a meeting with about 50 small-business owners at Bailey Coach's bus maintenance facility in West Manchester Township. The event was organized by the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business.

Businesses need predictability, which they're not getting from Washington, Perry said. As an example, he pointed to legislation to fund the federal Highway Trust Fund, which pays for road and bridge repairs. Instead of short-term funding fixes, the country needs a long-term solution that will assure funding for the next five or six years, said Perry, a member of the House Transportation Committee.

Taking a short-term approach means road-construction firms will be reluctant invest in equipment and hire more workers because they're not confident federal funding will be continue to be available, Perry said.

Small-business owners risk everything for their businesses. But Congress has ceded too much power to federal regulators, who aren't accountable to voters, he said.

Part of the problem is that many of those in Congress, which is supposed to oversee the regulatory agencies, don't have experience working in the private sector.

"It's important to have people who've signed the front side of a paycheck in Washington, D.C.," Perry said.

Curbing the flow of federal regulations coming out of Washington is a top priority for small-business owners like John Bailey,

Advertisement

Bailey, the president of Bailey Coach, said his company's 10 buses and drivers have been inspected 120 times in the past two years. Inspectors aren't shy about taking a bus out of service for even a minor violation, Bailey said.

"Sometimes I think they nitpick too much," he said.

Bailey also said he is concerned about a federal Department of Transportation regulation that would double the amount of insurance coverage bus operators like his company need to carry. Raising the requirement to $10 million, from the current $5 million, would be a hardship, he said.